Final Presidential Debate

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton began the last debate without a handshake — and they ended it without one too. After both candidates’ final answers, Hillary Clinton stepped forward and shook hands with moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News. Trump stayed behind his podium and watched, as Clinton then stood on stage and waved to people in the audience. Trump didn’t leave the podium until Clinton was too far away for a handshake, stepping off the stage and into the crowd.

The candidates have been accused of using their debate invitations to get under their opponent’s skin — and appear to be trying to outdo each other with their potential guests.

Billionaire Mark Cuban, an outspoken critic of Donald Trump, last week announced he had accepted an invitation from Clinton’s campaign to sit front-row at the debate on Monday night.

In response, Trump threatened to bring Gennifer Flowers, a woman with whom former President Bill Clinton had an extramarital affair.

The GOP nominee tweeted Saturday if “dopey Mark Cuban of failed Benefactor fame wants to sit in the front row, perhaps I will put Gennifer Flowers right alongside him.”

Flowers later appeared to accept the invitation: “Hi Donald. You know I’m in your corner and will definitely be at the debate,” she tweeted in response.

Bill Clinton testified under oath in 1998, saying he had a sexual affair with Flowers.

But members of Trump’s campaign on Sunday denied that Flowers was officially invited and said she will not attend.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) said confirmed Flowers wouldn’t be at the debate, and said his running mate’s tweet was meant to mock Clinton for “trying to distract attention away from this moment in our national life where the American people are going to see a strong contrast” between both major party’s nominees.

The Indiana governor criticized the Democratic nominee for extending an invitation to Cuban.

“Hillary Clinton apparently thinks this is an episode of ‘Shark Tank,’ but this is America,” Pence said on “Fox News Sunday,” referring to the ABC reality-business show Cuban has appeared on as an investor.

“Mr. Trump was putting them on notice that we could certainly invite guests that make it into the head of Hillary Clinton,” Conway said Sunday morning.

Debate commission Co-Chairman Frank Fahrenkopf warned both major party’s nominees against using their invites to try to disrupt the debate.

“We’re going to frown upon — I will tell you this right now — whether or not a Republican or Democrat or anyone else attempts by use of the tickets in placing people in a front-row or not, to try to impact the debate,” he said Saturday on CNN.

“It’s wrong. We would frown upon Mr. Cuban being in the front row if his purpose is to somehow disrupt the debate. Likewise, if Mr. Trump was going to put someone in the front row to try to impact things.”

Still, Fahrenkopf said the debate commission has been working with the both campaigns’ staff and doesn’t expect any problems.

“They’re approaching this in a very dignified manner — the way I think it should be approached,” he said.

On Sunday, members of Clinton’s campaign defended the decision to invite Cuban to the debate, touting his accomplishments and denying it’s an attempt to annoy Trump.

“I think it’s legitimate to have a businessperson sitting there who’s been advocating for you because of your economic policies,” Benenson said on “Fox News Sunday.”

Benenson noted that Cuban believes in things such as profit-sharing to help increase wages. He pointed to the many businesspeople who have endorsed the Democratic nominee and touted her plans to grow the economy and help get incomes rising for working Americans.

“As opposed to a candidate like Donald Trump, who says he thinks wages are too high in America and we should get rid of the federal minimum wage,” Benenson added.

Cuban has criticized Trump several times during the GOP nominee’s campaign, often taking jabs at the candidate on Twitter. Cuban has questioned Trump’s wealth, called for him to release his tax returns and slammed him for his lack of transparency.

When Cuban announced in July he would vote for the Democratic nominee, the billionaire said he’d do his best to convince everyone he knew to vote for Clinton.

Earlier this month, Cuban offered the GOP nominee $10 million for an interview about policy proposals.

Still, aides to both Trump and Clinton are saying their candidate plans to focus on the issues facing the country when the come face to face on Monday.

Benenson said on Sunday that the event is for the American people. Voters want to hear a substantive debate between Clinton and Trump so they can decide which candidate has the “experience, knowledge and judgment to implement plans that will make a real difference in their lives,” he said.
“That’s what Hillary Clinton’s going to be focusing on,” he said.

“Talking to the American people about their lives, what she’s going to do for them, how she’s going to get things done, that’ll help them get ahead.”